Liberal Scandals Continue To Add Up

May 19, 2017

It hasn’t been a good spring for Justin Trudeau because the scandals surrounding his Liberal government continue to add up.

First, take the latest deplorable conduct by the Minister of National Defence. Since becoming a Liberal politician, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has twice publicly claimed he was the “architect” of OP MEDUSA, one of the largest battles in Afghanistan in which Canada participated. Many in the military community have taken issue with this description - one calling it a “bald-faced lie.” While Minister Sajjan did serve with distinction in Afghanistan, he has deliberately exaggerated his role in this battle, which is considered a serious act of misconduct within the Forces. OP MEDUSA was in fact a team effort which was formulated under the command of Brigadier General David Fraser. It was only after he was repeatedly called out on his lie that Sajjan grudgingly apologized.

Then there’s the continuing saga of the Prime Minister’s family vacation over Christmas on the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas. This is the vacation where the Trudeaus were joined by the President of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is a fact that the Aga Khan’s foundation receives millions of dollars from the Canadian government each year for its projects around the world. The foundation is also listed as a registered lobbyist in Ottawa.

There are clear rules that govern how the Prime Minister and his Cabinet must conduct themselves with lobbyists. Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has confirmed that she has launched an investigation into the Prime Minister’s actions, but it is unclear if she has met with Trudeau on this issue. For some reason, the Prime Minister refuses to say whether or not he has met with her, despite being repeatedly asked during Question Period. What does he have to hide?

Then there are the spending scandals that continue to accrue under the Liberals. We have already heard many accounts of Justin Trudeau and his government mismanaging tax dollars, including the Prime Minister’s own personal travel expenses, Ministerial limo rides and million dollar ministerial office renovations. Their vanity and misuse of taxpayers’ money hit a whole new level in recent weeks as we learned that the Trudeau Government actually spent $2,000 on cardboard cut-outs of himself for use at events in Canadian missions across the world. Their laughable excuse given for this arrogance was that the cut-outs were needed to champion the values that Canadians hold dear. In addition to this, we’ve learned the Liberals spent at least $14,500 on custom filters for the mobile app Snapchat, and also spent tens of thousands of dollars on new TVs (including almost $14,000 for a single unit at Indigenous Affairs).

Actions speak louder than words; and despite saying otherwise, Justin Trudeau’s priorities are not the priorities of ordinary hard-working Canadians. My colleagues and I in the Conservative Caucus will continue to be the voice of taxpayers who want to demand better from this Liberal government.